Nightmares
by Stygian Sparrow
Summary: Nightmares. Each night, they came to the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo in his sleep, reminding him of his time in the dark pit of Tartarus. Sleep is torture, but tonight, Hazel's here to help him through the darkness. One-shot. One-sided Percico.


_**Ciao! **_**New fan fiction up! Just a one-shot though. I mean, it was originally going to be longer as a series of one-shots when I first made this an published it, but I am now just having it be a one-shot. With one of the most used names ever. Nightmares. I mean seriously. Night-fucking-mares. It was originally called "The Other Side of Nico", but whatever.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO, HoO, or any of these characters. **

* * *

_**Won't you come out  
We could paint the town red  
Kill a little time  
You can sleep when you're dead  
Cause it isn't over yet  
Get it out of your head**_

_**xxx**_

**With Nightmares**

* * *

It was dark.

The pit was a dark place, where the day and night did not differ and the only light was from the River Phlegethon, whose fire waters dimly lit Tartarus. Terrible, _terrible_ screams could be heard constantly, never-ceasing and never stopping. Monsters that only seemed to exist in the worst terrors churned, burning in agony as the waited to have a form once again and take revenge on those who cast them back into the deepest part of the Underworld.

The rivers of humanity's fears pumped in and out of the heart of the pit, giving light to the entity that embodied the pit. The darken crawled through its swamp, waiting for its next battle with the giant, Damasen. Night's darkness blinded those who went near. The deeper abyss called out, beckoning monsters forward. And one lone demigod was running alone.

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, ran through the dark pit of Tartarus. He searched for the Doors of Death, which held the key in defeating Gaea in this war against the giants. But he hadn't found it yet.

The monsters chased Nico with a fierce desire to kill him and the pit only made it worse. After being subdued by Hades for so many centuries, he was now free. And he wanted vengeance on Hades. So, he decide to kill his only living child. And to Tartarus's luck, the child came to him. Every second that the young demigod spent there pushed him more towards insanity, and he was nearing the brink. The voices had already came.

_I don't even know why I trust you. You're no brother to me. I can see why Bianca left you, _said a voice, dripping with venom. It was the voice of his half-sister Hazel, _You should just die here. Nobody will miss you. We'll celebrate instead._

A new voice spoke, _Face it. Even your father wishes you were dead. Bianca should have lived. _The new voice was Annabeth's._  
_

"Shut up! SHUT UP! YOU'RE ALL WRONG!" cried out Nico in desperation.

_Are we, Nico?_ Leo's voiced chimed into the conversation inside the Ghost King's head, _I think that' you're the one that's wrong. I mean, if your father knew this secret, he would hate you even more if that was possible._

Nico di Angelo froze in fear, startled, hands shaking, eyes wide open and swimming with terror at what the voices had said.

He whispered towards the walls of the pit, "Y-You don't know. You don't know anything. J-Just leave me-me alone…"

The voice of Jason came, _Oh_,_ but I think we do. You can't hide it. It's obvious. And to think that you would actually do something to repulsive and not even own up to it or try to overcome it. It's pathetic. Truly pathetic._

_I can't believe that I ever put a single shred in trust of you. I only did so because Hazel seemed to trust you, but she just pitied your __useless, worthless existence. That secret is a cold one and makes you no better than Gaea herself. You're probably a spy, _spoke the voice of Frank.

"NO! JUST STOP ALREADY! PLEASE! _PER FAVORE! BASTA FEMARSI!_"

_No Nico, we won't. Do you know why?-_

"SMETTALIA!_ TUTTI VOI! SOLO LASCIAMI IN PACE!_"

_Well, it's because you love me. And I that. It sickens me to even try to fathom that idea. You're weak, useless, untrustworthy, unwanted, pathetic, and you have a crush on me. I hate you, Nico di Angelo, I truly hate you with all of my existence. I. Hate. You._

* * *

"Nico? Nico! NICO WAKE UP!"

Nico opened his eyes instantly, only to find himself not in Tartarus, but in a bunk bed in the Fifth Cohort at Camp Jupiter. Hazel Levesque, his half-sister, was clutching his arm and staring at him with worry in her amber eyes. He himself was shaking all over, his ebony hair slightly damp with sweat, his breathing ragged, and heart beating frantically against his chest and he felt it in his head.

"Nico, are you okay? I heard you screaming in your sleep."

"I-I-I'm fine Hazel. It was j-just a dream."

"Nico, I'm your sister. You can tell me."

Nico looked into the corner of his dark-chocolate eyes with a thoughtful look, his pale hands fiddling with the edge of the purple bed sheets decorated with the Roman's motto, _SPQR_.

"Please Nico. This has happened a lot since the war, and I just want to help you recover. So please, tell me. Is it the battles? Is it the House of Hades? Tartarus?"

Nico di Angelo froze when she mentioned the cause of his nightmares. Those terrible, _terrible _nightmares.

"Yes..." He mumbled quietly under his breath, head hanging low.

Hazel took his no longer fiddeling hands with hers and she spoke to him in a comforting, calm way, "I understand."

"No. You don't. You don't know what's it like to-to…"

"So I don't, but you need to have a little trust in me. Just close your eyes and let me lead."

"No. I can't."

"Why not?"

"B-because," Unexpectedly, Nico through his arms around Hazel, buried his face into her shoulder, and started sobbing much to Hazel's surprise. She let out a small gasp, hen returned the hug between the siblings.

"It's okay Nico. I'm here. You're no longer in Tartarus. Everything is going to get better now and the future is what matters. I know that what you went through is something I can't possibly imagine, but it's okay because I am here for you."

For the next twenty minutes or so, the two children of the Underworld did not talk. Instead, Hazel hugged her brother and he sobbed and the sobs shrank into whimpers, and into sniffles as the night went on and the moon passed overhead. Eventually, Nico di Angelo fell asleep in his sister's arms.

When she noticed this, Hazel pulled back and tucked him back into his bunk. Nico looked peaceful in his sleep now, curled into a ball, hands underneath his head, lips slightly parted, and raven black hair falling into his eyes. It seemed as if he was no longer plagued by these nightmares tonight. No, he wasn't. Hazel would not allow that to happen.

As Hazel bent down, she kissed his forehead and whispered to the sleeping demigod, "Sweet dreams, Nico."

* * *

_**Sun's come up  
And there's no one else around  
Meet me in the shadows  
Won't you tell me what you found  
You've got everything to lose  
Yeah, I'm waiting on you**_


End file.
